Mumbai’s coronavirus cases cross 50,000-mark; toll touches 1,702

BMC on June 2 issued a circular in tandem with Maharashtra government’s Mission Begin Again plan to kickstart Mumbai and its economy post a 2.5-month-long lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The city on Monday crossed the grim milestone of 50,000 Covid-19 cases, and even reported the highest number of deaths (64) recorded in a single day so far. With 1,311 new cases, the count has gone up to 50,085 and the toll is 1,702. The number of cases is likely to see a surge in the coming week, as the city partially opened up in a three-phased plan that concluded on Monday.

Passenger maintaining social distancing after boarding BEST bus during unlock 2.0 phase at Mulund Check Naka, LBS road in Thane in Mumbai on Monday. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo)

Of the 50,085, 26,345 or 52.6% of the cases are active. Of the 64 deaths, 43 patients had co-morbidities. Forty-four patients were men and 20 women; three deaths were of people below 40 years of age, 38 were above 60 years, and 23 between 40 and 60 years. The city’s mortality rate is 3.39%. It has a recovery rate of 43.9%, as 22,032 people have recovered and have been discharged. The doubling rate – time taken for the number of cases to double – for the city is 23 days. So far, Mumbai has conducted a total of 2,29,899 tests, with a percentage positivity of 21.11.

BMC on June 2 issued a circular in tandem with Maharashtra government’s Mission Begin Again plan to kickstart the city and its economy post a 2.5-month-long lockdown. As per this plan, gardens and parks are open for joggers and morning walkers, between 5am and 7am, shops are open with restrictions on timings, private offices are working to 10% of their capacity with the remaining staff working from home, taxis and autoriskshaws are plying essential workers, and BEST bus services have resumed.

BMC officials said easing these restrictions will bring more people on the streets, who will interact with each other, and lead to a spike. Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani (who is in charge of health) said, “Our recovery rate is close to 50%. Although the number of total Covid-19 cases has crossed 50,000, our recovery rate is equally high.”

Regarding the 64 deaths recorded in a single day, Kakani said, “We are analysing the death rate closely. We are strictly following the protocols suggested by the task force to reduce deaths.”

Regarding a surge post staggered unlock plan, Kakani said, “We cannot call it surge. The number of cases may rise. We can say next 10 days are crucial for us and we need to analyse the trend carefully now. But we have augmented the bed capacity to handle it.” There are currently 775 containment zones in the city in slums and chawls, and 4,071 buildings have been sealed. The civic body has traced 9,47,424 risk contacts of patients, of which 2,36,068 are high-risk contacts. A total of 28,486 people are in institutional quarantine centres, as risk contacts. Of the risk contacts, 18,765 are suspected to be Covid-19 patients.

Om Shrivastav, a senior city-based doctor part of the task force appointed by the Maharashtra government in April to bring down mortality, said, “We will know more in the coming few days. Our health infrastructure is ready. We will have to see what the burden on the public health system will be. We are doing the best we can do in these circumstances.”